Sharman boots 100th goal despite dramas

By
BRAD COLE

IT TOOK a bit longer than most people thought, and had its fair share of drama, but Gregg Sharman finally wrote his name into the NTFL history books.

IT TOOK a bit longer than most people thought, and had its fair share of drama, but Gregg Sharman finally wrote his name into the NTFL history books.

Gregg Sharman

The Wynyard talisman battled through a case of the yips to kick his 100th goal of the season late in the third quarter of his team's 230-point mauling of East Devonport on Saturday.

After Sharman kicked a club-record 18 goals on them last time, the Swans were keen to play the role of party-pooper, regularly getting spare men in defence to block the supply.

The plan looked to have worked, with the left-footer only kicking one behind in the first quarter.

There were chances aplenty close to goal in the second term, but the radar had well and truly gone awry as Sharman kicked four behinds to go with his three goals, sparking murmurings in the crowd that the script wasn't being followed.

But normality resumed after the main break, with the 35-year-old bringing up the milestone after a trademark overhead grab at the back of a pack.

He made sure he wasn't going to miss either, running into the open goal and kicking it through from point-blank range before being mobbed by his teammates.

Sharman was quick to thank those teammates in the changerooms after the game.

``Probably the best thing about it (the milestone) is the support I'm given by my teammates,'' he said.

``They've been good a couple of times this year, like up at East last time when I had 15 and they knew Kevin Taylor's record, and they knew today I needed the eight and was kicking inaccurately.''